Pirates promotion of Polanco means Indianapolis has likely seen last of burgeoning star

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Gregory Polanco stretches during warm ups before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh Tuesday, June 10, 2014. It will be Polanco's Major League debut.
(Photo:
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
)

Big crowds usually awaited the Indianapolis Indians when their team bus pulled up before road games this season. Manager Dean Treanor said they always included at least 50 people.

But when the bus pulled up to Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pa., before tonight's game against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the only souls around were a few stadium workers. The fans had disappeared.

Word was out. Prized prospect Gregory Polanco had been called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates and he started Tuesday night in right field against the Chicago Cubs. Polanco went 1-for-5 with a single in a 7-3 loss.

"How he handled everything, how he interacted with the fans, was tremendous for a 22-year-old," Treanor said. "He came to work every day. It's just a great feeling to see him (called up). I know there will be fans sneaking into the ballpark to see his first at-bat tonight."

It's a move that had been rumored for the last several days. Polanco hit .347 for the Indians and was leading the International League in runs (47), runs batted in (49), total bases (134) and extra-base hits (29) at the time of the call up late Monday. He was tied for the league lead in triples with five and also had 15 stolen bases.

Polanco is ranked as the 12th best minor-league prospect in baseball by mlb.com. Treanor doesn't expect to see him back in Triple-A.

"There will be times he'll struggle up there," the manager said. "There were times he struggled down here and he always adapted. He's improved greatly."

The left-handed swing Polanco told reporters in Pittsburgh he's improved in hitting the ball the other way during his time in Indianapolis. He said he was excited "like a child" when he learned of his promotion.

"I knew I was getting closer," Polanco said. "I didn't know of a date. ... Today means a lot to me, but I am going to be relaxed and controlled."

The Pirates opened a spot on their roster by putting second baseman Neil Walker — another former Indians player — on the disabled list following an appendectomy, but director of minor league operations Larry Broadway said that was independent of the decision to bring Polanco up.

"Gregory is a tremendous young man with a lot of aptitude," Broadway said via e-mail. "The reason we had him (in Indianapolis) for as long as we did was to develop some areas of his game and for him to get some valuable upper-level experience so that when he was promoted, he would be equipped to handle the challenges and not look back."

Polanco did not play in the Indians' 3-1 victory at Lehigh Valley on Monday, but Treanor said that was a planned day off. The plan was for him to arrive at the ballpark earlier than usual today for extra batting practice and play tonight.

But Treanor got word after the game that Polanco was on his way to Pittsburgh. He said he usually tells a player he's being promoted in the privacy of the manager's office, but announced Polanco's news in front of his teammates, who had lined up outside the office sensing something was up.

"He is such a great teammate, smiling and laughing all the time," Treanor said. "I just thought it was the right thing to do in front of the team and it turned out great."